Delayed, cancelled flights cause headaches for Fredericton travellers

The former head of CyberNB is frustrated over a slew of recent flight cancellations in and out of the Fredericton International Airport and says Air Canada needs to be held accountable.

"When I'm a businessman and I'm trying to get from point A to point B across the region, there has to be an essential service to allow me to execute my job and invite my clients … to come to the province and you have to know they're going to get there," said Allen Dillon, who is now CEO of the cybersecurity firm Root9B.

"It's hard enough they … have to travel in a cigarette tube from Halifax to Fredericton."

The Fredericton resident is part of Air Canada's Altitude Million Mile Program, an elite program for travellers who have flown more than a million miles with the airline.

Dillon takes up to 115 flights a year and estimates 40 per cent of the time he's dealing with a flight cancellation or major delay that can sometimes take him on a different route to another city, causing even more delays.

Sometimes he'll take an earlier flight just to ensure he can make his meetings on time.

He says the cybersecurity business is growing in Fredericton and across the province and essential services — like air travel — need to be in place.

"Imagine if we shut down a major highway running through New Brunswick and we were no longer able to deliver key services or products," he said. "The airline is very much the same thing."

He describes the airline service as "unreliable, which affects bringing in business to the province and is hard on families trying to get home with time constraints.

He says the issue of flight cancellations is getting worse and blames the lack of pilots in the region as one of the leading factors.

"When I walk through the airports, the airport employees and or Air Canada employees in the region, mock the service openly. This is an issue that has actually permeated right into the people," Dillon said during an interview with Information Morning Fredericton from St. John's, N.L.

Other residents complain

Earlier this month, Fredericton Coun. Stephen Chase complained he experienced four last-minute flight cancellations while travelling between Halifax and Fredericton in the past year.

Chase said he was offered a four-hour taxi or bus ride home instead. On two occasions, Chase opted to rent a car, but says he never received a refund.

It's just not good enough for a capital city. -Allen Dillon, CEO of Root9B

Since August 2017, three of his four cancelled flights were from the Halifax Stanfield International Airport to Fredericton, while the fourth was from the Fredericton International Airport to Halifax.

According to the Fredericton International Airport's website on Friday, one Air Canada flight from the Halifax Stanfield International Airport to Fredericton is already cancelled at 1:25 p.m., and a flight travelling to Halifax from Fredericton at 1:40 p.m. is cancelled.

Meanwhile, a flight arriving in Fredericton from Halifax at 1:15 a.m. on Saturday is delayed.

CBC News requested an interview with Fredericton International Airport CEO Johanne Gallant, but was told it is an issue involving the airline.

'Rare' compared to number of flights

Isabelle Arthur, a spokesperson with Air Canada, said the airline understands how disappointing it is when a cancellation occurs, but is "constantly" working with Air Canada Express partners to ensure "safe and reliable service."

"Flight cancellations do occur for a number of reasons such as operational constraints, inclement weather or aircraft out of service for mechanical reasons," she said.

"They are, however, rare relative to the [1,600] daily flights we operate."

Arthur said Air Canada did not plan to provide any interviews and would advise if anything changes.

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Dillon isn't satisfied.

"If we're going to deliver a service we have to do it in a way that actually meets with the demand and the need in a profitable way … so that we can get on with running a province, running a business, growing our economic agenda," he said.

He believes the federal government also has a role to play in regulating and structuring the delivery of airline service to Canadians.

"They are not working in a context of holding people's feet to the fire to deliver the basic essential service in a reliable format," he said.

Pilot shortages an issue

In a previous interview with CBC News, Monette Pasher, executive director of the Atlantic Canada Airports Association, said pilot shortages have become an issue across the region, particularly over the past 12 months. This is having an impact on smaller airports and passengers travelling through Halifax.

While becoming a pilot in Canada can be costly and time-prohibitive, about 1,200 new pilots graduate in Canada each year. About half of them are international students.

"It's just not good enough for a capital city," Dillon said.